Life After Voldemort
by Halstead84
Summary: Life is going to finally move on, now that Voldemort is out of the way.
1. The Battle Is Over

Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Life After Voldemort**

The battle was over. He had defied the odds and come out alive. Years after he should have died in that little cottage in Godric's Hollow, Harry Potter had defeated the greatest dark wizard of all-time, Lord Voldemort.

There had been doubters all along, as he had expected. Those who didn't think he could be strong enough to bring Voldemort down once and for all.

To truly kill the greatest evil wizard, or possibly the single greatest wizard, regardless of good or evil status, was something that would require more skill, luck, and tenacity than Harry Potter possessed.

Things were going to be different from now on. There would be definitive hope for the future. No more living in fear, sadness, and despair. Things were going to be bright and prosperous for the wizarding world for years to come.

Hours after Harry Potter had emerged victorious from the final confrontation with Lord Voldemort, he was, to put it simply, exhausted. Never before had he been in such a state in his life. He longed for the comfort of his bed, waiting idly for him in the Gryffindor tower. High above the ground where he now stand, finally shaking what seemed to be the last of the sea of hands that he'd endured through during the course of events after the battle.

As Harry made his way to that paradise that he called Gryffindor tower, his mind was in a dull state, but he was able to think of certain things clearly. Ginny, for one, was high on that list. He couldn't wait until morning, when he would finally be able to see her, hold her, and know that she was truly safe, as long as she was with him.

Sure Harry had some worries, like everyone, that Ginny may have moved on during his year away. During his year of forced non-contact with those he loved and missed most. If it hadn't been for his best friends with him, he may have never gotten the willpower to continue with the task laid upon him by Albus Dumbledore.

As Harry approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he realized that he didn't have a password. The Fat Lady must have seen the expression on his face, one of confusion, he assumed, and simply told him "Oh why bother? I think it's fairly clear who _you _are."

Harry was grateful for this, because he didn't want to have to deal with another thing today. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours that he didn't ever want a day so busy again, for the rest of his life.

As he stepped into the Gryffindor common room, he found an unexpected, but welcome sight. On the loveseat beside the fire, lay the girl of his dreams. Fiery haired, freckled, as if she was kissed by the sun, was Ginny Weasley.

"_She must be waiting for me_", Harry thought to himself, hoping that it wasn't just a selfish thought, but the whole and honest truth. In reality, Harry longed for nothing more than to be back with his girl, to share an eternity with her, an eternity free from photographers, from Death Eaters, and from all the dangers of the modern world.

The fire was warm, crackling, the light it cast off onto Ginny's resting face gave her the most breathtaking look that Harry couldn't help but think of how amazingly beautiful she was, even though she had just been through a battle herself. His mind seemed to go numb at the sight of her, taking her in, everything just stopped.

As he sat down beside her, he noted how the common room seemed to be just slightly out of place. He needed to do something about that, because it just wasn't right to have things out of place. Even though he was drained, he used up some of his remaining energy in order to put things in their rightful and proper place. An aura of pride seemed to exude from everything in the room.

Harry put a hand down over Ginny's, just to remind himself of the way she felt. It seemed to him like nothing had happened, like they had simply remained the people they were a year ago. Everything with Ginny just seemed to flow, and be natural. Harry didn't need to worry about what she thought of him, because of the fact that he knew she understood him.

At least, she used to. Did she still feel the same as he did? When their eyes' met for that fleeting moment during the fight, the same passion and intensity seemed to still rest inside of her, but how could he be sure? Was it really fair of him to just assume that all of the pieces of his life would just fall back into place and go back to the way they were before he left?

The answer was no. Things weren't going to go back to normal. Because normal was fear, normal was death. Life was going to get better from here; there was nowhere else for it to go. He was going to bring everything to a new level. A new level of happiness, it's what everyone deserved after what he'd done to them. If he'd worked faster, there would have been less death, less pain…

Harry's thoughts of loss and pain were soon broken, when Ginny stirred in her sleep. She seemed to be dreaming, and a smile crept across her face. Harry wondered how exactly she could be having pleasant dreams on a night like this, but he figured if anyone could, it was Ginny.

"_He's still alive, he's still here for me…"_

Harry couldn't help from smiling at that. He was certain that she was talking about him, who else could it be? Harry gave himself this one moment of satisfaction and joy, in the midst of the despair surrounding him.

"_Perhaps Ginny does still feel something for me"_ Harry thought, _"even if it's just a shred of what it used to be, that's enough for me. I can work with that, I can build on that."_

Ginny stirred again, getting more comfortable on the loveseat. She seemed to be pulled right into his waiting arms, as if he were a magnet to her. Harry knew that Ginny didn't know he was here, but he couldn't be happier that she had shifted right into him. He lay back, in an attempt to gain more comfort for the both of them, and let his mind numb into a sleep that allowed him to rest peacefully with Ginny in his arms…

Well, tell me what you think so far. Be warned, this could turn out to be a pretty sappy story, because I simply love the relationships in this story. Please read and review, I'm trying to get back into writing these fanfics (I've written one before), and review will help tremendously. I'm open to any and all criticisms; they help to improve the quality of story. Thanks so much.


	2. Dreams

JKR said she wants me to take possession of the Harry Potter franchise. I'm feeding you an obviously blatant lie, everything in this story comes from her, and it will continue to…

(A/N Pure fluff chapter, just trying to get back into the feel of writing! Thanks for reading!)

**Dreams**

**Harry's POV:**

Harry dreamt that night, and for the first time in years, it was a good dream. Maybe it was a dream of his future, if everything that he planned worked out as he saw it…

… A warm spring evening, a mile outside the wards of the Burrow. In the place that they'd previously designated as "ours." He had made special arrangements to have a candlelit dinner set by the stream that they loved. Ginny didn't know what the special occasion was, but she loved the thought Harry had put into this. All she could tell was that Harry seemed nervous, on edge. She silently hoped that this night would be the one she'd dreamt of since she was on Platform 9 ¾ so many years ago. Harry led her to her seat, politely pulled out her chair, and asked her to sit. They ate their meal, and as they did, Harry hoped that Ginny could notice the particularly blazing look that he knew was in his own eyes.

Harry told her to close her eyes as the sun sets in a beautiful array of gold, maroon, and orange. She did so, and felt him take her hand. He then told her to open her eyes. She opened them to see Harry on one knee, in front of her.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, you are everything I could ever ask for and so much more. You are the most beautiful woman I will ever know, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"…

… Ginny emerges from the bathroom, a great and fiery smile on her face. "I'm pregnant!" she screams as she runs towards Harry. He grabs her in a huge hug, picks her up and twirls her around the kitchen. - Months later, Ginny is very pregnant, and is cradling her bulging belly. He is there with her, she sees that his emerald eyes are full of adoration for his beautiful wife, and the gift she will soon bless them both with. He kisses her passionately, thanking her silently for being such an important piece of his life…

… A cool summer night, Ginny is reading a bedtime story to a young boy. Harry stays outside the room, just listening. He is amazed by Ginny, and how great of a mother she is. She finishes, turns out the light and silently walks to the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. Ginny doesn't know that he is there, and he jumps out and wraps her up in a crushing hug. She kisses him softly, grabs his hand, and takes him back to their room, where she falls asleep curled in his arms, just as deep in love as they ever have been…

Harry woke the next morning, but he didn't open his eyes. He was convinced that the day before had not happened; there was just no way that he could have defeated Voldemort.

No, he would open his eyes and still be in a lonely tent, far off in some unknown forest, with only his two best friends with him.

As he lay there for a moment, however, he felt a movement that didn't come from him. It was then that he opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't dreaming. He remembered that the most important person in his life was sleeping happily in his arms.

Ginny tucked in closer to Harry's chest, and as she did, Harry could feel just how right it was to have her with him.

"_Nothing could be better than this_." Harry thought.

Even though she'd just been through one of the toughest days of her life, Ginny still looked like the girl he dreamed of nearly every night for the past year. Her hair still that same deep shade of famous Weasley red, the flowery scent he had come to know her by still strong in the air, everything about her seemed to be the same.

"_I know she seems the same on the outside, but does she still feel the same inside_?" Harry thought to himself.

"_She's had nearly a year to find someone else, to find someone that wouldn't be so dangerous for her_."

But then why would she have seemed to have been pulled towards him last night when he entered the common room and sat down next to her?

"_She must still feel the same, because without her, I am nothing_."

Ginny was his one and only, even though it had taken far too long for him to realize it.

Looking back, Harry laughed, because he should have seen the kind of sick humor that destiny planned for him when he saved Ginny's life back in the Chamber of Secrets.

As he laughed to himself, and appreciated just how lovely it was to have Ginny in his arms; Harry thought to the dreams he'd had.

"_What wonderful dreams those had been_…" He thought to himself.

"_If I can capture even a tiny amount of the emotion shown in those dreams, I will have actually succeeded in something in my life_."

**Ginny's POV:**

… "Come on love, we need to do this, one way or another."

Ginny had only ever dreamed that she would one day actually be Harry Potter's girlfriend. As a child, with her ever-present crush, she could do nothing to imagine further beyond that.

But today was a different day, a much bigger and more important day. A day that she'd prayed about for years.

"If you don't get your arse in that room to tell my parents that we're engaged, I will never kiss you again, as long as I live."

When threats like that were thrown around, Harry wasted no time in doing what Ginny wanted.

"Oh okay… You win." Harry replied, noticing the familiar glint in her eyes as he opened the door to what could either be his impending doom or his ultimate satisfaction.

The way Ginny saw it; one of two things was going to happen. Either one, Harry was going to announce to her parents that they were engaged, and Molly and Arthur were going to be the ones who killed the Boy Who Lived.

Or two (hopefully two, she thought), Harry would announce that he was going to marry Ginny, and her parents would wrap them both up in a famous Weasley hug, and grant them their blessing.

"Well, show that Gryffindor courage and get a move on." Ginny said as she winked at Harry, signaling that there was no going back now…

Ginny woke up. A pair of arms she'd always dreamt of, Harry's arms, were holding her tightly.

She couldn't believe that he had actually come and fallen asleep with her on the loveseat. What with the possibility of those who walked by witnessing him in such a state, Ginny had half-expected Harry to just go right up to his former dormitory.

"_But he didn't_." She thought to herself. "_He laid down next to me, and fell asleep with me. That must mean that he still cares about me_."

She nuzzled into his chest, wanting to be infinitely close to him. He was everything that she'd hoped. He was her hero, even if he didn't believe it.

She would make him see.

Make him see that despite those who were lost, including her brother, that he was a hero to everyone. There was no denying it as far as she was concerned, and she wasn't going to let him get away with moping around. She would do everything in her power to make sure that he was kept in as high spirits at every moment possible.

Now that their life together could happen, she was hell-bent on making sure that it happened.

And when Ginny Weasley wanted something bad enough, there was nothing that could keep it from her.

(A/N- I know that this chapter doesn't really accomplish anything. But I haven't posted in months, and I want to try and get back into the feel of writing. I have had mega writers block, as well as not having been able to properly convey what I think Harry and Ginny feel for each other right now. I am sorry about the chapter's lack of purpose, but I hope it can be enough for now. I'm open to ideas as to where to take this story, and suggestions are lovely!)


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